Gotham Just Cast A New Actor To Take Over As Scarecrow

Gotham Season 4 kicked off with some of its most frightening episodes yet by bringing The Scarecrow back in the form of Jonathan Crane, son of Season 1 Scarecrow's Gerald Crane. When Gotham returns from its midseason hiatus, though, audiences are going to see yet another face beneath Scarecrow's hideous mask, as Green Room's David W. Thompson has been cast to take over the nightmarish role, and will make his appearance at some point this spring.

No one should be shocked that Scarecrow is returning to wreak more havoc in Gotham City in the near future, since Jonathan Crane managed to avoid being apprehended during the Arkham mutiny back in Episode 2. One assumes that he's been working on making his fear toxin even more powerful and mind-bending, so his return should be even more maddening for all involved. He'll just look a little different with a new actor in the role, though we might not ever actually see his face, depending on how much time he spends within his Scarecrow garb.

Technically, TVLine doesn't specify that David W. Thompson will be joining Gotham as Jonathan Crane, and the report only identifies the Scarecrow role. So it's possible the Fox drama will set up another character to take over the villainous mantle. Though no official reasons have been given for actor Charlie Tahan's exit from the show, it's believed that his busy schedule filming Season 2 of Netflix's stellar drama Ozark hindered his ability to return to Gotham for the continued arc. Tahan brought an enjoyable and youthful edge to the role, so here's hoping Thompson picks up the reins in an admirably macabre fashion.

Gotham will be David W. Thompson's first trip to the DC TV world, and it should be quite a big break for the actor. He's appeared on various TV shows and films over the years, from Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt to Blue Ruin, and 2017 brought the debut of his own co-created comedic web series Rhinebrook, which can be viewed on Vimeo.

Those keeping score know that The Scarecrow isn't the only big Batman villain to get recast for Season 4. Ivy Pepper, who's yet to fully take on her Poison Ivy persona, was originally played as a pre-teen by Clare Foley, with Maggie Geha taking over the role as an older and more seductive version. Now, actress Peyton List will portray Ivy for the foreseeable future, with a noteworthy arc coming in the back half of Season 4. Will we get to see Jerome or The Joker get involved with Ivy or Scarecrow? We hope so!

Gotham had kept its Season 4 midseason premiere date a secret for a long while, but thankfully revealed recently that the batty drama will return to Fox on Thursday, March 1, at 8:00 p.m. ET. To see all the other shows hitting the small screen soon, both of the costumed and non-costumed variety, hit up our 2018 superhero TV schedule and our midseason premiere schedule.